Commando

Name:

Commando

Company:

Atari

Model #:

RX-8094

Programmer:

Sculptured Software

Year:

1989

Released?

No

Notes:

Port of the 1986 Capcom Coin-Op

Port of the 1986 Capcom coin-op, Commando is and overhead shooter
in the same vein as Ikari Warrior and Guerrilla War. You
play the role of a generic commando (whom we'll call Joe). Joe is
a one man army who must rescue his captured comrades while waging battle
against an unknown rebel insurgency in an unnamed country. Yeah...
so the plot isn't all that deep, but then again who plays an action game
for the plot anyway?

Commando is separated into eight different areas, each
with its own distinct theme. The game begins with Joe being dropped
off by a helicopter with what can only be described as having the coolest
blade animation ever seen in an 8-bit game. After you've been dropped
off in an area, you must battle your way through waves of various foes
to the heavily fortified gate at the end. These gates contain waves
of enemy soldiers which must be eliminated before moving onto the next
area. Between each area you are treated to a cute little animation
of a faceless Joe doing something macho.

As a one man army, Joe comes equipped with the standard
gun with infinite ammo and several grenades that have a surprising limited
blast radius. As you make your way through each level you'll shoot
countless generic soldiers Some soldiers will run straight
at you, while others will hide behind bunkers or in trenches (use grenades
to get these guys). Other enemies include rocket launcher soldiers,
motorcycles which toss grenades at you from the bridge tops, deadly jeeps
and trucks which will attempt to run you over, snipers hiding in guard
towers, and of course those evil pill boxes...

As you travel each level, keep an eye out for a glowing
knife or gun. These power ups will give Joe even more superhuman
powers than he already possesses. The machine gun allows Joe to
shoot bullets at a unbelievable rate, while the knife will allow Joe to
kill enemies by running into them. Other things to watch out for
include secret underground passages which contain treasure and hostages,
and enemy soldiers transporting hostages. These guys can be shot
for extra points.

The Atari XE version of Commando is very impressive, especially
given how absolutely primitive the 8-bit hardware was in 1989. The
graphics are well detailed and varied, with lots of background trees and
cliffs. The colors are a bit drab, mostly consisting of tan and
green, but this is a limitation of the 8-bit color pallet (just pretend
this is operation Desert Storm). The sound and music are very impressive,
and wont get on your nerves until at least the third or fourth area. If
Commando had an Achilles heel it would have to be the controls. Playing
Commando with the standard Atari stick is a painful experience due to
all the dodging and shooting Joe has to do. Commando is one of those
games that works best with an arcade joystick or a directional pad. Playing
the game through to the end with an Atari stick is guaranteed to be a
grueling and painful endurance test.

Despite it's control issues (which in all honesty is not
the games fault), Commando is an amazing piece of coding. It is
absolutely astounding that Sculptured Software was able to squeeze the
amount of detail they did into this version. The XE version of Commando
stacks up quite favorably against the 7800 and NES versions of the game.
Unfortunately Commando arrived a little too late for the dying 8-bit
line and never made it out the doors. It's a shame as that Commando
is one of the best 8-bit ports to ever grace the system.